[nabs-l] Questions about getting assistance in airports

Fri May 27 21:44:18 UTC 2016

Kennedy Stomberg 
Thank you for starting this discussion! I am flying on my own for the first time to Convention, and I was a bit scared to a2k about this, as it seemed like most people know! But I am glad I am not the only one flying on my own! Have fun in California!  

> On May 27, 2016, at 4:32 PM, justin williams via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> You can either get assistance, or ask direction, and a combination of the
> two.  If you take the assistance, be sure to instruct them as to exactly how
> you want help.  Keep in mind, you want to make aur eyou catch your flight,
> but you also don't want to get pulled and pushed around any old way..  When
> I was offered a wheelchair, I put my luggage in it.
> LOL.
> Justin
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aleeha Dudley
> via NABS-L
> Sent: Friday, May 27, 2016 5:28 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Aleeha Dudley <blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com>; blindtlk at nfbnet.org; Sami
> Osborne <ligne14 at verizon.net>; travelandtourism at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Questions about getting assistance in airports
> 
> Hello Sami, 
> I would like to give my own thoughts on this topic. First let me say this. I
> will soon be graduating from the Louisiana Center for the Blind, and much of
> what I have learned stems from this training. I do not generally get
> assistance at airports, unless it is a very tight connection between flights
> at an airport that I do not know. Even then, as I learned recently, it may
> not be a good idea. People can be very over helpful, pushing and pulling you
> around, putting you in a wheel chair, making you late, and generally being
> pains in the neck. So, I generally ask people where my gate is or where the
> counter is. With their direction, I simply just start walking. 
>> This allows me to really get to know where things are and it gives mea
> good sense of what is around me. I always learn what my luggage looks like
> so that I can find it myself by touching the bags on the luggage carousel.
> I also wanted to ask you: what airline was it that asked if you had a dog?
> Aleeha 
> 
>>> On May 27, 2016, at 12:53 PM, Sami Osborne via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> I hope you're all having a great holiday weekend and enjoying spending
> time with family and friends.
>> 
>> This August, I'll be traveling from my home state of NY all the way to San
> Francisco, CA for a ten-day-long music camp for the blind.  This will be my
> first time flying by myself without my family.  I'd like to ask you guys a
> couple of questions about getting assistance to the gate at the airport,
> which we, as blind people, probably all need.
>> 
>> First of all, how much in advance should you let the airline know that you
> need assistance? When my mom was buying the plane tickets, she discovered
> that one of the questions they asked was if I was a blind person with a
> guide dog.  She didn't answer that because I only have a cane.  But on the
> airline's website, there is no information regarding getting assistance if
> you're blind.  So I'd like to know if you'd need to apply for assistance
> well in advance of your trip or just a few days before? Also, should you do
> it on the phone or can you do it online?
>> 
>> Second, I know that they can help you to the gate, but will they assist
> you with getting to the security checkpoint as well? When I go flying with
> my family, the airport employees usually assist me with going through
> security, so I already know that they can do that.  But as for getting from
> the curb to the checkpoint, would they be able to do that?
>> 
>> Third, as I mentioned before, this is my first time  flying on my own.  I
> know that a lot of times in the airport, they'll ask you if you want a
> wheelchair, only because they assume the worst about us.  I think you know
> what I mean.  Anyway, when I apply to get assistance, should I tell them
> that I don't need a wheelchair and just use sighted guide with whichever
> airport employee is walking with me, or would I need to do that  at the
> airport?
>> 
>> I hope that you people who fly independently can help me with this.
>> 
>> Thanks and happy Memorial Day weekend,
>> 
>> Sami
>> 
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